Travel Battery for African Safari

MVPinBoynton · Post by **MVPinBoynton** » Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:49 pm

I have been using CPAP for 10 months now and haven't had any issues at all, other than dry mouth. Can't increase humidity or I get the flooding noise that wakes me up.

I have booked an African Safari for next year. I was originally concerned about being able to get distilled water; but when I realized that electricity is not always available at night at some of the facilities, that was a much bigger issue. The tour company recommends getting a battery pack. I should be able to charge the battery each day, so I only need about 7 hours of use per night on my Resmed Airsense 10. We also have low luggage weight limits, so I need to find a battery that is relatively lightweight. Are there any recommendations for a lightweight travel battery for a safari?

CapnLoki · Post by **CapnLoki** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:34 am

MVPinBoynton wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:49 pm
... The tour company recommends getting a battery pack. I should be able to charge the battery each day, so I only need about 7 hours of use per night on my Resmed Airsense 10. We also have low luggage weight limits, so I need to find a battery that is relatively lightweight. Are there any recommendations for a lightweight travel battery for a safari?

Congrats on the trip - I'm rather envious. But the cpap will cause some issues.

First - the bad news, part one. You won't be able to use the humidifier or a heated hose - they take way too much power for a "lightweight travel battery." In tropical areas this won't be much of a problem, but in a high desert you might suffer a bit.

Next - the bad news, part two. Your cpap pump happens to be the least efficient of the major pumps available. At pressure "10" the load is 0.93 amps at 12V which for 7 hours works out to 78 watt-hours. A Philips 560 (older) or DreamStation (current) is about 0.5 amps or 42 watt-hours. The older ResMed S9 is a bit more at 46 watt-hours. The various travel machine will be less, but even the ResMed AirMini is 38. In other words, your machine will use almost twice the power of any other.

So what does this mean for batteries? Since weight is an issue, we'll only consider lithium. Most packs intended for airline travel are under 100 watt-hours to conform to FAA standards. Some push it to 140 but you then run the risk of someone halfway around the world rejecting it. They are illegal to put in checked luggage, but they should allow you to bring one plus a spare in carry-on. And a companion could also bring one (or two). These packs weigh about 1.5 lbs and cost between $100 (cheap, will need extra adapters) and $340 (comes with needed cables). These will only power you for one night and will require at least 5 hours to recharge - you may need two if you want to go out for two nights with minimal charging opportunities.

Another approach is to leave your "primary" cpap at home can get a cheap, efficient machine for travel and backup. A used Philips or older S9 could be had for under $300 (maybe much less) and would run for two nights on the same battery, and you won't mind so much if it gets trashed. You could also get one of the newer small travel machines, but the price (and the noise) goes up.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to leave it all behind - the last thing you want is to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon while the herd of wildebeest are going by!

MVPinBoynton · Post by **MVPinBoynton** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:22 am

CapnLoki wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:34 am

Congrats on the trip - I'm rather envious. But the cpap will cause some issues.

First - the bad news, part one. You won't be able to use the humidifier or a heated hose - they take way too much power for a "lightweight travel battery." In tropical areas this won't be much of a problem, but in a high desert you might suffer a bit.

Next - the bad news, part two. Your cpap pump happens to be the least efficient of the major pumps available. At pressure "10" the load is 0.93 amps at 12V which for 7 hours works out to 78 watt-hours. A Philips 560 (older) or DreamStation (current) is about 0.5 amps or 42 watt-hours. The older ResMed S9 is a bit more at 46 watt-hours. The various travel machine will be less, but even the ResMed AirMini is 38. In other words, your machine will use almost twice the power of any other.

So what does this mean for batteries? Since weight is an issue, we'll only consider lithium. Most packs intended for airline travel are under 100 watt-hours to conform to FAA standards. Some push it to 140 but you then run the risk of someone halfway around the world rejecting it. They are illegal to put in checked luggage, but they should allow you to bring one plus a spare in carry-on. And a companion could also bring one (or two). These packs weigh about 1.5 lbs and cost between $100 (cheap, will need extra adapters) and $340 (comes with needed cables). These will only power you for one night and will require at least 5 hours to recharge - you may need two if you want to go out for two nights with minimal charging opportunities.

Another approach is to leave your "primary" cpap at home can get a cheap, efficient machine for travel and backup. A used Philips or older S9 could be had for under $300 (maybe much less) and would run for two nights on the same battery, and you won't mind so much if it gets trashed. You could also get one of the newer small travel machines, but the price (and the noise) goes up.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to leave it all behind - the last thing you want is to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon while the herd of wildebeest are going by!

Thank you so very much for your very comprehensive reply. This is exactly the information that I needed to know. I will look into some of the options, since it would be nice to have along with me. But I might also just not take one. When I started CPAP in Oct, I wasn't having any sleeping issues and was never tired during the day. I got tested, because I would notice an occasional spike in my heart rate in the middle of the night with my Apple Watch and app. I will say that I don't get up in the middle of the night as much and do like how the CPAP works, but not sure that it is totally necessary all the time. Once I get past the initial period where Medicare requires daily use, I will try to see how I sleep for a full night without one. If there isn't a problem, I will just not take it next year, unless I can find a good portable option. Thank you again, you have been most helpful.

MVPinBoynton · Post by **MVPinBoynton** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:34 am

I have spent way too many hours reading about travel machines and batteries since my last post. I would really like to try out the AirMini, but the many complaints about the noise level turned me off. Based on CapnLoki's excellent info, I realized that I could bring my AirSense 10 if I didn't use the humidifier and had a battery like the Pilot 24. With 95 watt hours, it would be quite adequate for a night's sleep. Since I will be able to charge it up every day, one day's performance per charge is all I need. My biggest concern then was no humidifier. So last night I turned off my humidifier to see if I could tolerate it. To my surprise, I believe I actually did better without it. I am less congested now than normal and I didn't wake up during the night with excessive dry mouth, like I normally have in the night. I don't know why, but I am not complaining.

So now I am planning on just getting the battery. Thanks so much CapnLoki for the info that allowed me to make an informed decision.

Mr. Bear · Post by **Mr. Bear** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:01 pm

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I'm a newbie and this is almost my exact same situation. I was on the wait list for a spring photography workshop in Botswana, and they called me around Thanksgiving to let me know a slot opened up. Although it took me until this week to think about using a battery. I bought an OmniCharge 20+ at the suggestion of the instructor, since it can be used for many things (e.g., charging a laptop, tablet, camera batteries, etc). We'll be out in the savanna during the day, although we can charge various batteries on the vehicle chargers (they have USB chargers, among others) so my assumption is that whatever battery I use at night, can be charged during the day.

That said, I just sort of assumed I could use the 3-pronged outlet on the OmniCharge to power my AirCurve, but inverter draws too much power, so it didn't work. Then I started looking for battery solutions, and, of course, they're all super expensive. I started reading here, and then figured that if I could get the right cable (something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RF ... IV2F0TL1K3), set the OmniCharge DC-out to 24v/3.8A) and plug it in and be done. Or get an OmniMobile (the big one has a DC out port that can be set to 24v).

Alternatively, I was thinking about getting a portable unit like the Z2 Auto, and then I'd need a 12v cable instead. It almost seems too simple (after spending 2-3 hours reading various product websites and this message board). And there's the question about whether the battery can power the vPAP all night. But there's the 100WH limit on the plane, and, of course, I have this fear of hooking everything up and hearing a loud "pop" as the Aircurve fries itself, or the battery short circuits...

Anyway, am I overlooking anything? I've read quite a bit of stuff here, but a lot of it is around camping solutions, not "no electricity at night" solutions.

Thanks!
-Seth

JHC · Post by **JHC** » Wed Jun 09, 2021 8:51 am

This is the closest thread to my current question: When using batteries and DC converters, is a Dreamstation more efficient than an AirSense 10? From this thread it sounds like it is, although from the tables I've been looking at in both the user manuals, it sounds like the Dreamstation is a lot LESS efficient. However, the tables have many variations and assumptions built into them, so I'm not sure what to think. The Dreamstation simply says that it draws 6.67 amps; and the AirSense 10's table's large variety of results all seem to be a lot less.

I've been using a CapnLoki rig for my AS10 for a couple years when camping, with a 33AH battery, and it'll do one night fine, but it can't seem to get through two nights if I can't recharge it. I was recently given a Dreamstation.

Travel Battery for African Safari

Travel Battery for African Safari

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